Belle Neige, Yesterday and Today

In the early 1960s, brothers Henry and Saul Fenster, backed by several other investors, launched a project to set up a new ski station in the Laurentian Mountains at Val-Morin, Quebec. 40 years later, the Fenster brothers are still active at Belle Neige. Here is a brief outline of what the company has accomplished over the intervening years:

• 1961 Trail construction, installation of mechanical lifts (T-bars) and construction of the main ski chalet; 
• 1963 Inauguration of the station; 
• 1967 Addition of another T-bar. Installation of first snowmaking facilities; 
• 1968 Construction of a 15-unit motel and a pool on the site. 6 blocks of land cleared and made available for trailers or mobile homes on a rental basis;
• 1970 56 further rental sites made available; 
• 1979 28 additional sites cleared for mobile homes; 
• 1980 Replacement of one of the T-bars by a double chairlift; 
• 1984 Renovation and major investments in the snowmaking facilities; 
• 1988 Replacement of 2 T-bars by a quadruple chairlift. Acquisition of 2 Bombardier BR-400 groomers for trail maintenance; 
• 1991 Implantation of a new system for treating waste water designed to serve the mobile home park, the motel and the other buildings on the site; 
• 1999 Start of an action plan designed to ensure the company’s long-term development; 
• 2001 to 2003 Arrival of a new group of investors who, in partnership with the Fensters, invested $2 million. This investment plan included: acquisition of 2 new Bombardier groomers for trail maintenance, renovation and enlarging of the main chalet, renovation and enlarging of the ski boutique and installation of a brand new snow-making system allowing production to be doubled. 

Although numerous other similar stations begun in much the same period have now disappeared altogether, Belle Neige has never stopped progressing and adapting to its clientele, which has greatly changed over the years. The management of the station has shown both innovative flair and creativity without ever getting carried away by large-scale development which might well have brought the company to its knees. Prudent and enlightened management has meant that Belle Neige has remained in a strong position in a highly competitive market.

The following examples demonstrate the company’s capacity to innovate and adapt to change over the years, in order to meet the evolving needs of its clientele:

• One of the first stations in Quebec to make artificial snow; 
• Through the well-known Pierre Vérot Ski School: a pioneer station in the teaching of snow sports to handicapped persons; one of the first stations to teach the discipline of freestyle skiing; also one of the first to embrace snowboarding; 
• The famous “Wednesday Ladies’ Day”; often imitated elsewhere but never supplanted. For over 23 years, this unique promotion has attracted thousands of ladies onto the slopes of Belle Neige (and the odd male skier at the same time!); 
• Possibility of paying for season passes by means or pre-authorized monthly payments; 
• Site of the largest half pipe in Canada for snowboarding fans at the start of the 1990s; 
• Initiative involving 3 fundraising campaigns to benefit the “Association pour les Enfants Handicapés du Québec” in collaboration with the television show Chambres en Ville. A significant contribution to a good cause; 
• Creation of the concept and organization of the “10 stations for the price of one” promotion for season passholders. This promotion now includes 15 member stations instead of the original 10; 
• Establishment of a policy of guaranteed snow conditions and number of days open. 

In 2005, the company received an honourable mention in the Innovation category during the awards ceremony of the Grands Prix du Tourisme Québécois.

For many of the people associated with the company’s activities directly or indirectly, whether they are employees, suppliers or clients, Belle Neige has long been a part of their lives. Just as in the past, the ski centre remains an organization of very human dimensions, all the actors of which go to make up one large family.

While striving to maintain its business culture and those values it has developed over many years, Belle Neige is committed to playing a major role in its main market now and in the future.